Medical Lake Halloween Events 2026: Your October Guide

Until this year, Halloween in Medical Lake was mostly one free Saturday afternoon at the High School Bus Loop. In 2026 Medical Lake Parks & Recreation added its first Haunted Trick or Treating Trail at Waterfront Park on Friday, October 30. The Re*Imagine Medical Lake Fall Festival follows the next day. One more event on the calendar changes the shape of the whole season. October on the West Plains now builds week by week toward an unbroken run from Thursday the 29th to Saturday the 31st.

The month before that is spread out: pumpkin patch weekends near Medical Lake and costume parties at two library branches on weeknights. The schedule below lays it out in order so you can spot the stretches that overlap.

Three pumpkin weekends that end before Halloween week

Rusty Truck Ranch opens its 2026 pumpkin patch for three weekends: October 9 to 11, October 16 to 18 and October 23 to 25, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. Admission includes the pumpkin patch, hayrides, animal petting areas, a sensory corn bin and a tube slide. General admission at the gate is $10. The ranch also sells a family four-pack online only, but the captured page doesn't show its price.

The patch closes on October 25, so anyone who wants a ranch pumpkin to carve for Halloween has to get it before Halloween week. The last weekend is the latest you can go and still have a fresh pumpkin on the porch by the 31st.

The ranch gives a practical direction tip on its contact page. Its physical address can send drivers to the wrong place, so it recommends searching "Rusty Truck Ranch" in a navigation app.

Medical Lake Parks & Recreation sends its first school's-out day camp of the season to the ranch on opening day. "Fall Fun at Rusty Truck Ranch" runs Friday, October 9, from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. It costs $50, and you need to register by October 7. Breakfast and a snack are provided, and kids bring a sack lunch. Families with a kid in camp that day can save the weekend visit for later in the month.

Weeknight costumes, a week apart

The Spokane County Library District is running the same idea at two West Plains branches, six days apart. Both events give a prize to kids who come dressed as a book character.

• Airway Heights Library, Thursday, October 15, 4 to 5 p.m. "Step into a Story: Book Character Costume Party" is for ages 5 and up and their families, and the listing shows no fee. The branch is at 1213 S Lundstrom St.
• Medical Lake Library, Wednesday, October 21, 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. This one is part of the branch's Wonder Wednesdays series. It adds book-themed crafts and games, and costumes are optional. The branch is at 321 E Herb St.

With the schedules offset like this, one costume can get two outings before the big weekend. That also gives a younger child a lower-key trial run before the crowds at the end of the month.

On the Airway Heights side, the city calendar has an all-day "Happy Halloween" entry for October 31, 2026, but no venue, time or other details. The Airway Heights Park & Rec events page currently lists no upcoming events. If a community event is announced, that page and the city calendar are where it should appear first.

Friday, October 30: the night that's new this year

The Haunted Trick or Treating Trail at Waterfront Park is Medical Lake Parks & Recreation's first. It splits the evening into two parts so families with young kids and older trick-or-treaters can use the same trail without overlapping.

1. Trick or Treating Trail, 4:30 to 6 p.m. Volunteers on this shift wear costumes that aren't scary and are aimed at kids 10 and under.
2. Haunted Trail, 6:30 to 8 p.m. After sunset the newsletter promises "ghouls and ghosts," and the volunteers on this shift come dressed to scare.

The event is free and open to all ages, and the city says to plan on 20 to 30 minutes on the trail. The trail starts at its north end, not at the park, so you park at Waterfront Park and take a shuttle to the start. Carnival games, with chances to win candy, are set up at Waterfront Park by the Main Shelter. With the shuttle in the plan, the simplest approach is to arrive early in your time slot and finish at the games near the car.

Parks & Recreation is still looking for volunteers for both shifts. Every volunteer has to pass a background check, and the city's September community newsletter has the contact information.

Saturday, October 31: the festival that used to be the whole holiday

The next afternoon the focus moves across town to the High School Bus Loop for the ReImagine Medical Lake Fall Festival. The ReImagine page calls it an annual family event that "brings out all of the town's ghouls, goblins, and ghosts." It's free and includes a walk-through trunk-or-treat, a farmers market, pumpkins, games and other activities.

The times are worth checking before you go, because the published schedule has two windows. The ReImagine event page lists the trunk-or-treat, with more than 20 decorated trunks, from noon to 3 p.m. It lists the broader activities from 1 to 4 p.m. The city's September newsletter gives 1 to 4 p.m. for the event overall. If the trunks are the main draw, plan to arrive by noon, and check the ReImagine Medical Lake page closer to the date in case the schedule is updated.

The festival depends on community participation. Businesses, organizations, families and volunteers can register a trunk or donate to the King of Candy collection. Trunk applications are on the festival page.

Saturday afternoon also plays a different role this year. The festival used to carry the whole holiday. Now it follows a night when older kids have already had their scare, so the Bus Loop afternoon can stay focused on candy, pumpkins and younger children.

The adults-only nights around the same weekend

The two resort casinos in Airway Heights put their own Halloween programming on the same days, so the 21+ calendar lines up with the family one.

• Thursday, October 29. Spokane Tribe Resort & Casino holds a Honky Tonk Night. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., lessons start at 7 and live music starts at 8, with a $5 cover. That same evening, Northern Quest holds the drawings for its "$75,000 Frightful Fortunes Giveaway" for eligible Camas Club members.
• Saturday, October 31. "Spokane Dead: Halloween Party & Costume Contest" opens at 8 p.m., after the festival has wrapped up. Tickets are $20, and entering the costume contest requires a Sun Club membership. The ticket listing marks the event 21+ and places it at Spokane Live, 14300 U.S. Route 2.
• Earlier in the month. Northern Quest, at 100 N Hayford Rd, holds its Halloween Craps Tourney on Tuesday, October 20. Sign-up starts at 4 p.m. and the final is at 9 p.m., with a $50 entry for Camas Club members.

Put together, the last three nights of the month have something on each one. Thursday is for adults, Friday is the new trail and Saturday has both the family festival and an evening costume party.

One last note for anyone planning a fall walk near the water. The Spokane Regional Health District lifted its recreational advisory for West Medical Lake in September, after two follow-up samples came in below Washington's guideline of 8 micrograms per liter. The district told the Cheney Free Press that harmful algae warning signs may stay up at the lake through the end of October, when the bloom season usually ends.

Events like a new haunted trail are the details Amy Khosravi keeps track of across the West Plains, because they shape what a fall weekend in Medical Lake or Airway Heights actually feels like. If you're thinking about how your home will present during the busy fall season, schedule a free consultation and we'll go over timing, staging and what's happening nearby.